


just breathe

by yume_blue



Category: Cobra Kai (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Badass Daniel, Blood and Injury, Choking, Daniel needs a hug, Gen, Hurt Johnny, Hurt Robby, Hurt/Comfort, Johnny needs a hug, Medical Inaccuracies, Sad Daniel, Sad Johnny, Sad Miguel, Sad Robby, Season 3 Finale, Season/Series 03, Season/Series 03 Spoilers, Spoilers, Suicidal Thoughts, Temporary Character Death, Trauma, What-If, Whump, actually it's one sentence but i'm tagging it to be safe, death mention, episode 10, im sorry, super dramatic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 02:33:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28574568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yume_blue/pseuds/yume_blue
Summary: sometimes, what seems like only minutes can make a big difference.basically what would have happened if Daniel had taken a bit longer to get to the Cobra Kai dojo in the final episode.don't read if you haven't watched season three
Relationships: Daniel LaRusso & Johnny Lawrence, Daniel LaRusso & Samantha LaRusso, Miguel Diaz (Cobra Kai) & Johnny Lawrence, Robby Keene & Johnny Lawrence
Comments: 23
Kudos: 143





	just breathe

**Author's Note:**

> major spoilers for the finale of season 3.
> 
> trigger warnings: if choking, blood, vague mention of suicide or mentions of death trigger you, be careful, please  
> stay safe, everyone.
> 
> also, this is the first fanfic i've ever written, and english is not my first language.

Johnny Lawrence was used to having his spirit broken. 

He was used to reaching rock bottom, to not having what he wanted or even needed. He was used to losing, despite Cobra Kai’s philosophy, or maybe even because of it. So, after everything that happened, Johnny thought nothing else would be able to shock him enough to bring him down to rock bottom again. 

But nothing could have prepared him for the sight of his own son mirroring him, making the exact same mistake he did: trusting Kreese. 

“Shit! Ah, Robby, Robby, are you okay?”

Now he had been forced to defend himself from his son, and the kid was lying there, blood seeping from a gash in his temple, because of an accidental throw. Johnny felt cold all over. This couldn’t be happening. 

"Robby, I'm sorry that I hurt you. Robby, are you okay?" he asked, feeling panicked.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his neck, and a hand pulled on his collar from behind. He felt another blow to his chest, and fell to the ground, winded. 

"I thought there was still hope for you", he heard Kreese's voice and, looking over at him, Johnny saw him lifting the sai, the black metal in his wrinkled hand. He kicked it off, and it clattered to the ground. The older man then grabbed him instead, holding the blonde's throat with his fingers, and pressuring his neck with his other arm.

Johnny choked. He could feel his windpipe being crushed, hearing Kreese say something he couldn’t hear, because his ears were ringing. 

His inner teenage self trembled, panicked at having to relive the same scene from thirty years ago. And there was no Mr. Myagi to save him now. He doubted anyone would come for him.

Johnny realized this could be it. 

All he could think about was that he had failed. He looked sideways to Robby, still sprawled out, unconscious on the floor, his head lolling to the side, and it was all his fault. Johnny had trusted Kreese, had allowed him to get close to his kids, and caused all this mayhem. 

Maybe it would be better if he wasn’t there...

He choked once more, trying to take a breath, just one...

Johnny felt light-headed, his breathing was becoming more and more difficult, and his vision was swimming. Suddenly, he heard a yell.

“Dad!”

Blearily looking to the side again, he saw that Robby had woken up, blinking rapidly, and wobbly trying to get to his feet. He was clearly dazed, but there was no mistake what scene he was watching: his father being choked by his new sensei. 

“You’re _killing_ him! Stop!” Robby screamed, a panicked look in his eyes.

The young man ran towards Kreese, who barely cast him a glance, and withdrew an arm from the father to throw the son aside. Robby was still dizzy, and fell again, now right in front of Johnny’s line of sight.

Seeing his opportunity for distraction, Johnny tried to dislodge the older man, elbowing his stomach, but the other hand still held onto his throat and was like iron, never letting go of the blonde. Soon he was immobilized again, his breathing contricted by Kreese's fingers.

The blonde man was getting steadily weaker, but tried to warn his son. 

“R-Robby... Run...”

“N-no!” The young man was weak as well, but he continued, extending a hand towards his father, “I can’t - I can’t leave you!” 

Despite everything, Robby didn’t want his father to die like this. His voice sounded so scared and young, and Johnny remembered the little blond boy in a soccer suit, whose photo was hanging on his refrigerator so long ago. He felt so much regret. If he could turn back time...

“Don’t worry, Mr. Keene”, said Kreese, calm as ever, interrupting Johnny's thoughts. “Soon he’ll be out of our way.”

Johnny ignored the old man’s words and tried to smile at his son. Kreese’s grip was unrelenting, and his vision was being adorned with black spots. 

“Robby... I’m... sorry.” Johnny croaked, his voice breaking, his head swimming...

Robby’s terrified face, and his yell of “Dad!” was the last thing Johnny saw and heard before darkness overcame him. 

...

Robby was trembling. 

His whole body was ice, and he was paralyzed as he watched the scene in front of him. His dad’s lifeless body was thrown by Kreese to the floor, like a ragdoll, most probably... _Dead_. 

Kreese stood up, looking down at Johnny’s body, and said, “You know, Mr. Keene, I gave Johnny so many chances. But he was a disappointment in the end.”

And Robby felt haunted by those words, because hours before this, that’s exactly what he thought of his father. And now, seeing him limp on the floor, after having tried to get through to him, after having warned him to not trust Kreese, Robby realized what a fool he had been. 

His father had done everything he asked. He stayed away when he needed space. Earlier, he dropped the sai - when every instinct must have been screaming at him to kill Kreese - just because Robby told him to.

And Robby had called _him_ weak.

The ice melted and liquid fire filled Robby's veins. He didn’t think. There was no doubt now. All he saw was the enemy, the true enemy, and he had just seen him choke his father to death.

" _Raaaaargh!_ "

He just ran towards Kreese and punched him. But he quickly recovered and blocked all of the teen's next attacks, easily overpowering him. He punched Robby, who, still dazed from before, fell again. He could feel the wetness in his face, the blood dripping over his eye. He felt a metallic taste, too, and knew he must've busted his lip.

“Hm. I thought you’d be better than him. But I guess you’re just like your father in the end... Completely useless”, said Kreese, as if he was just talking about some food that went bad. He went to the discarded sai from before and casually picked it up. 

Robby started breathing heavily, his chest tight, his head heavy with dizziness. The teen’s lips were bleeding, and he had bruised ribs. And Kreese was advancing on him slowly, like a predator playing with its prey, the sai in his hands.

Suddenly, the door opened with a bang. 

...

Kreese was kicked in the stomach and fell, rolling in the mat, away from Robby.

“You send them to my house?! You came after my daughter?! You wanted a fight, you son of a bitch, now you got one!" Daniel LaRusso exclaimed, approaching Kreese, not even noticing Robby and Johnny. His vision was completely red with anger. 

Then he noticed the pair, and his rage evaporated, filling his veins with dread. 

"Robby? J-Johnny...?", Daniel murmured. Robby was dazedly trying to crawl towards his father, who wasn't moving, unconscious. 

Noticing where LaRusso was looking, Kreese said, "I told you", making the other man stare at him once more, standing and putting his fists up. "This was inevitable."

Kreese approached the younger man. Daniel got into his fighting stance, and defended himself from the kick. He blocked and dodged every punch thrown at him. 

Kreese grabbed his shirt, saying, "You can't keep up this defense only shit forever.”

"Good thing I don't have to!”, Daniel affirmed, dislodging the older man's arms from him and delivering a powerful blow to Kreese's shoulder with his forearm.

They traded blows once more, Daniel being a bit more offensive this time. Then, Kreese grabbed him and threw him over the window, which shattered, and both fell to the ground, with the older man on top.

While LaRusso was catching his breath, Kreese got up and grabbed a shard of glass from the ground. "Time for you and Myagi to reunite", he said.

_If an enemy insists on war... You take away their ability to wage it._

Chozen's words ringing through his head, Daniel blocked Kreese's arm and delivered the paralyzing hit, effectively immobilizing the limb. When the older man tried to attack him with the other arm, Daniel did the same thing to it.

Kreese was visibly shocked, but Daniel didn't stop, and paralyzed his left leg as well, just like Chozen had taught him. 

Daniel stared into Kreese’s wide eyes, and everything came crashing down on him on that moment, in a wave of cold fury. All that he had suffered because of this man when he was younger. Arriving home to see his daughter and her friends injured, everything destroyed, Robby crawling on the ground towards an... An unmoving Johnny... 

A scared young boy from thirty years ago.

If Daniel concentrated, he could almost imagine Johnny by his side, young again. Nodding reassuringly, as if giving him permission. As if asking LaRusso to give him justice.

Daniel took a stance to deliver the final blow, slipping into his Kata.

“Dad!” Sam’s voice echoed through the night, startling Daniel from his thoughts. He saw her coming with Miguel by her side. 

Turning back to the paralyzed old man, Daniel quickly delivered a powerful strike in Kreese’s forehead, and he fell to the ground, unconscious, but still alive. 

_More than what he deserves_ , thought Daniel.

“Dad, what...” Sam was starting to say, having made her way to her father’s side, when suddenly a scream made everything come to a halt. 

“HELP! Please, someone...!”

The three ran into the dojo, and saw a scene they wouldn't soon forget.

Robby, battered and bruised, with his head bleeding, kneeling next to an unconscious Johnny on the ground, his hands on his father's shoulders.

"Johnny!" Daniel screamed. Ignoring another cry of "Sensei!" right behind him, he ran towards the blonde. 

Falling to his knees beside him, Daniel started to shake his left shoulder. "Johnny, wake up!" 

Robby looked at Johnny, "Dad, p-ple-ease!", he sobbed, tears streaming down his face. Miguel fell to his knees right next to Daniel, and tried shaking the unconscious man as well. 

"Sensei! Wake up!", sobbed Miguel, trembling hands on his sensei's shoulder, lightly shaking him still. 

Sam took her phone and dialed 911. "They'll be here soon!" she said, unsteadily. Daniel nodded at her in thanks, his eyebrows creased in concern, and turned back to Johnny.

"Come on, man, wake up!" he exclaimed, lightly tapping the man's cheeks. Johnny's head lolled to the side, and Daniel saw his lips were slightly blue. 

“H-he choked him”, stuttered Robby, still staring at his unconscious father. Daniel lowered his own head next to the man’s mouth, but didn't feel any air coming out.

"He's not breathing..." Daniel murmured, causing the others to gasp, noticing the bruises on his throat. He put two fingers on the side of it and, feeling his pulse still beating, his instincts took over, and he tilted Johnny’s head back, hurriedly tearing open the black shirt the blonde was wearing. Interlacing his fingers over the chest, Daniel began compressing. 

"Come on, Johnny, breathe!" Daniel didn't stop, and after a number of compressions, watched for any sign of recovery. The man didn't stir. He repeated the process a few more times, with even more force. “Come on, man, come on...” he said, panting heavily with panic and exhaustion.

Sam was openly crying, Miguel was sobbing next to her, and Robby was shell shocked into silence, staring at the scene with empty eyes. 

"Breathe, Johnny, please!" Daniel pleaded, still compressing his chest, and looking for any sign of life. Several minutes passed in this manner, with Daniel pleading at him to breathe, and the kids watching in complete shock. He lost count of how many compressions in total had already been made, and realized he must have broken Johnny's ribs already.

Finally, Daniel was exhausted, and couldn't take it anymore. His arms ached, like there was lava in his veins, and he was heavily panting. Johnny was still unconscious, and not breathing. 

Still holding his hands over the blonde’s chest, Daniel tried to continue the compressions, but his movements were weak. His head bowed, and tears fell down his face as he murmured, "Johnny..." He couldn't believe this was happening. Just when he thought that they had reached an agreement. That they were becoming... Not quite enemies anymore. 

Daniel felt for a pulse again.

It was gone.

"No, no, no...", he murmured with urgency, trying the compressions once more, begging to any deity out there who would listen to him. "Johnny, no, come on!" But the blonde wasn't reacting, wasn't recovering, no matter what he did. Still he didn't give up, he had to continue. Until he heard his daughter.

"Dad! Dad, Dad, stop!"

Breathing heavily, Daniel looked at Sam. Her cheeks streaked with tears, she said, "You're exhausted! It's too..." She couldn't complete the sentence.

Her dad shook his head, looking completely lost. His eyes glazed over, his vision going blurry. Daniel stared at Johnny. He lightly touched the blonde's head, stroking his thumb in his forehead. He was so still, and cold. His face was already wet, but more tears fell down, and he lightly sobbed over the blonde's body.

"No..."

Daniel's heart broke, though, when he looked at the kids.

Miguel's chest hurt, as cried into his hands. Sensei was the first person to ever give him confidence, to believe in himself, to give him strength. And, in his mind, he remembered all the moments they had together. How he could be... Fatherly to him, sometimes. How he had heard his sensei's voice when he was still comatose, a while ago. He gave him the courage to fight. Miguel had looked to him like a father, and now he was gone. "No... Please, sensei..." he sobbed.

Robby was in a state of shock, completely paralyzed. His dad had been away for most of his life, but now he had been trying to reach out, to correct his mistakes. The boy realized that now, and how stupid he had been to trust Kreese. If he hadn’t, none of this would have happened. This was his fault. Every moment they spent together, every smile, every fight... Running through his head. Tears fell down his cheeks in rivulets, as he murmured, "I'm sorry, Dad..."

Sam was completely horrified at the scene in front of her. She had seen her fair share of violence - the fight in the school and in her house, to mention a few incidents - but she had never seen actual death. It left her completely cold. And she was worried about Miguel and Robby, who were devastated. The girl knew they'd never be the same again.

Daniel couldn't take this. These kids were suffering. Johnny being gone would absolutely destroy them.

He couldn't let that happen!

"No!" he screamed, startling the kids. "No, Johnny, come on!" He started the compressions again, feeling a new wave of energy and determination wash over him. "Don't do this!" he pleaded.

"Dad..." Sam called, realizing that her father was way past logic at this point, but she couldn't find the words to say. She knelt beside him and touched his arm. 

Daniel knew this. Several minutes have already passed without Johnny breathing, even before they got there. It was impossible, but he kept trying. He couldn't let Kreese destroy another life, not anymore. Memories of his past came back to the forefront of his mind again, and Daniel decided he would not. Lose. Again.

He continued the compressions, ignoring his state of exhaustion. Down, pressing down, pressing down, his arms ached so much, as he used all the strength he had left. He couldn't stop, wouldn't stop, never, as long as he was still breathing, he would still try.

Everything else washed away at that moment. Daniel's ears were ringing with panic, muddling all the noise around him. He vaguely heard someone call his name, but ignored it.

"Please, Johnny!" Daniel exclaimed, frantic. Frustrated, he punched the blonde's chest with his closed fist.

And the impossible happened. 

Johnny heavily gasped in, taking a breath.

...

The first thing he registered was the pain. His chest ached heavily, as if it was filled with something, and coughed, trying to breathe, and hands were turning him on his right side, which helped immensely. He coughed again, taking in greedy lungfuls of air. He heard several people say his name, but what stood out the most was the broken voice calling, "Dad..."

He coughed again, and heard someone say, "It's okay, Johnny, you're okay, take it easy, man... Just breathe."

When he calmed down and was breathing somewhat normally again, he fell onto his back and opened his eyes, panting. Robby was looking at him, face streaked with tears. He also noticed LaRusso with a tired but relieved look in his eyes, and an emotional Miguel, face also wet with crying, and that girl, Sam, who was supporting her father's arm.

He turned to his son. "Hey, kid..." Johnny tried to smile, despite the pain and exhaustion. Robby's face crumpled and he started sobbing, saying, "Dad, I'm so sorry, I'm s-sorry, I-I..."

"H-hey..." still panting slightly, he tried to calm his boy, weakly grasping at his hand, and squeezing, "It's not... Your fault... Robby... It's okay..."

"It's not okay-"

"Yes, it... Is. Not... Your fault. I'm okay", Johnny reassured him, and, feeling his son collapse against his upper chest, crying, he just ran his fingers through his hair, saying "Shhh..." as if he were a little boy.

He closed his eyes, and, opening them again, saw Miguel crying too, and smiled, "Hey, kid. What... What happened?"

The Latino wiped his cheeks. "Sensei... You stopped breathing... And Mr. LaRusso saved your life! I... I thought I lost you!" He sniffed.

Johnny touched his arm with his free hand and said, "Hey, hey, calm down, kid... I'm okay now. See?" He smiled once again, and Miguel nodded, and tried to give a small grin as well.

Then the blonde looked at Daniel, who was observing him still. 

"Thanks", he said, his voice rough. Daniel shook his head, sighing, and said:

"It's okay. I'm just glad that... Yeah." He seemed to have trouble finding the words to say.

Johnny looked at the ceiling, recalling what happened, and suddenly felt cold to the bones, remembering thirty years ago. 

"Can't believe... It happened again", he said. "And this time..." Daniel interrupted him, touching his shoulder. "Johnny", he said, dragging the blonde's gaze over to him. "You're gonna be fine. Okay? It's okay now", he repeated, as if he was trying to reassure not just his ex-rival, but himself as well. 

The other man continued to stare at Daniel. "Kreese?" he asked.

"I knocked him out".

Johnny nodded at him, a grateful, haunted look in his eyes. Daniel felt a fierce protectiveness in his heart. Tightening his hand on the blonde's other shoulder, he said, "He won't hurt you again, Johnny. I promise."

His chest tight and warm at the same time, Johnny's eyes glazed over, but no tears fell. 

Then, they finally heard sirens approaching in the distance. Johnny was put on a stretcher and taken to the ambulance. 

When Daniel stepped out of the dojo, he wasn’t sure why he was surprised to find no one there. Kreese had ran away. But he vowed to himself that, if he ever came back again, he would regret it.

Johnny was taken to the hospital, Robby accompanying him in the ambulance, and Daniel following with Sam and Miguel in the car.

None of them would be able to forget about what happened that night.

**Author's Note:**

> heeey you've reached the end, thank you so much for reading!
> 
> the characters might have been a bit ooc, i think. sorry about that
> 
> at first, i was gonna have Daniel do the mouth-to-mouth thing, but my First Aid app said not to do it if you're not a qualified professional, so... i took it out. other than this, i think pretty much everything else is kind of innacurate...
> 
> some of the dialogue was taken from the show.
> 
> have a nice day :)


End file.
